Samurai Champloo x2
by MusicStories
Summary: It's been two and half years and Fuu has begun traveling by herself..and one of her boss' sons. On the way to Edo, she runs into the past and some mysterious situations. Follow Fuu, Mugen, and Jin on a journey that makes the trio question why they'd ever split up in the first place. I do not own Samurai champloo, this is something I simply made for fun. Enjoy!
1. Intro

**I've went through and corrected all the disgusting errors, mistakes, and whatnot throughout all the chapters. It should be better now (๑•́ㅿ•̀๑) ᔆᵒʳʳᵞ**

* * *

As the sun rose and birds began to chirp, one particular human being was already up and ready to start her day. Fuu Kasumi was a 17 and a half-year-old girl who hadn't grown but two inches since she was 15. Slipping on her pink and purple kimono, she nodded her head, dancing to the off-key tune she was humming. Taking her chestnut hair and putting it into a high-side ponytail that's significantly longer than it used to be, she rolled her eyes at the ornaments that she used to stick in there to complete the look. Fuu felt it was too "childish" to design her hair like that now. I'm practically 18! She thought as she grabbed her pink sheath from off the ground. The beautiful pink color reminded her of the days she spent with the two boneheads that she considered her friends. Looking at the skull, dice, and dog dangling from a piece of string that connected to the sheath, she thought how nothing had really changed over the years. Only now, her curves showed, her hair was longer, and that tanto was now a wakizashi sword.

Over the span of two years, Fuu found an exciting job. She would go all over Japan to give and bring back mail. Nothing serious as information from enemies or anything from the Daimyo, but it was something to do. And she thought that because she took this risky job, she had a better chance of meeting her long lost friends. But that thought began diminishing as almost three years have gone by and she's been everywhere in Japan. Fuu knew it was no use, she didn't even understand why she bothered. She shook away her tears as she thought that they've forgotten about her and moved on with their lives. Something that she too thought she should have done years ago.

Fuu sighed and made her way out the house that she lived in. It wasn't big and quite frankly, too old for anybody to even occupy it. But Fuu didn't mind. It was a house that kept her dry from rain and shelter her and Momo from whenever they came back from their trips. Sliding her sword on her back, Fuu and Momo made their way to her job. Upon arriving she was greeted with old perverts like usual. She rolled her eyes, but politely greeted them like she did every day. Making her way up to her boss who sat on the tatami floor, chatting away. Aguri was an older woman who often sent Fuu out to give letters to her son who lived in Edo. Aguri had long black hair and eyes sharper than any sword Fuu had ever seen. But the woman was the nicest person she had ever met. Upon staying in Nagasaki, Fuu looked for jobs after she got kicked out about every placed that offered her one. Aguri had found Fuu and proposed an idea that she would give letters to her son since Aguri was too old to make the trips for herself and she hated waiting for the real people to do it. In return, Aguri would let Fuu stay in her son's old house and she would give her money for her trip and back. Fuu thought that she was joking but quickly learned that this was no joking matter. Aguri trained, fed, sheltered, and cared for Fuu in such a short amount of time that it made Fuu emotional at times. At first, Fuu would travel with another person but quickly grew out of that stage of relying on others. She had learned how to defend herself (somewhat) and began taking the journey by herself.

"Ah, Fuu-chan!" Aguri's sharp eyes lit up.

"Hello, Aguri. Having a drink with all the men again?" Fuu chuckled as Aguri shook her head.

"They came in here bothering me first."

Aguri ran a sushi shop with her youngest son Soejima and often had older men inside, drinking their lives away at 9am.

Soejima was a year older than Fuu and had his mother sharp eyes with a bubbly personality. With dark brown hair and seemingly tall; he was definitely something all the young girls wanted. But little did Fuu know, he had eyes for her.

"Hey, Fuu." He smiled.

"Good morning Soe." Soejima smile brightens at the sound of his nickname.

Fuu sat down at one of the tables as Soejima placed bowls of great food in front of Fuu. Clapping her hands twice, Fuu dug into the deliciousness that she called Heaven. By the end of her reign of eating, Fuu lied there, completely unable to move. Scared that her stomach might just snap her Obi, she stayed still. Soejima stood over her laughing as she made a pouty face that he thought it was cute.

Later Aguri brought the sleeping Fuu a letter. Fuu sat up and took the letter, smiling at her boss. Standing up and cracking all 206 bones in her body, she made her way to the door, waving at everyone before making her way out.

Fuu enjoyed these journeys by herself. It gave her a lot of time to evaluate and reminisce old times. She would walk and tell the trees and the nice animals she encountered, funny stories, crazy stories, and even the sad ones. Especially the time they broke up for good. Fuu remembered that day like it was yesterday. Walking away from the two men who helped her through so much to reach her goal with a bright smile on her face and a "see you later" saying, you would have thought she was okay with it. But as soon as she had gotten far away enough, she broke down. She wanted them to know that she was happy and wasn't emotional at all like she had previously been. But Fuu knew she couldn't keep up with that facade of hers. The truth was she didn't know when she would see them again. If she ever saw them again.

Fuu wiped her eyes and strode down the forest until she heard sticks crackling. Instinctively taking out her sword, she turned towards the noise. Waiting for whatever animal she seemed to always fight off come out and attack her, her eyes widen when she saw a very human man come out the bushes.

"Soejima?" Sighed Fuu as she returned her sword to her sheath.

With leaves in his hair and a pink tint on his cheeks, he walked up to Fuu.

"Hi.."

"What are you doing here? Where's Aguri?" Fuu questioned.

Soejima scratched his head, "I followed you."

"Why?"

"I was worried about you Fuu." He grabbed her arms.

Fuu smiled, "I'm fine. I've been doing this for-"

"Almost three years. Yeah, I know. But I'm still worried." He completed her sentence.

Fuu shook her head in disbelief, "What about Aguri? You're just gonna leave her?"

"She has help. Now come on." Soejima smiled and walked away.

Fuu shook her head once again and followed.


	2. Verse

"I am so hungry!" Fuu shouted while falling dramatically on her knees.

Soejima smiled slightly as he stood and watched the girl practically crying about her hunger.

"If you would get up. We could stop at the next town and get something to eat."

Fuu puffed her cheeks out and stood up, striding to whatever town they would reach soon. Fuu and Soejima hadn't been traveling for too long. Just about a couple of hours and Soejima finally remember why Fuu insisted on traveling alone.

1\. She complained every 50 yards about her hunger.

2\. The animals liked to pick fights with her.

3\. She talked way too much.

But Soejima didn't mind. He would listen to the wild teenager go on and on about her daily life and how it was before she had met Aguri and himself. He loved to listen to the stories of her past. Soejima felt like he was somehow more connected to Fuu whenever she did tell him things. He would laugh with her and hugged her when she would cross the topic of her dad.

"And when we couldn't pay for our food, Mugen would always run away and unfortunately, Jin and I had no choice but to follow, or we would have gotten caught." Fuu laughed.

"It was so nerve-wracking then, but now that I think back about it, it was fun." Soejima saw the sentimental look in her eyes.

"That Mugen guy sounds terrible.." Soejima couldn't help the jealous tone that slid from his mouth. Fuu had always found herself talking about that particular person, and when she did realize she would try to throw Jin in the story as well.

Soejima didn't like it.

At all.

"He was," Fuu laughed out loud, "But he's actually nice. He might not show it, but his actions did. I mean, he helped me find my father.. Mugen and Jin fought for me. I'm not sure how I could ever repay them."

Neither Soejima or Fuu answered. They silently continued walking, making their way to Hiroshima. Fuu dived head first into food while Soejima ate graciously. After eating everything she could and getting laughed at by Soejima and a few strangers, the pair left to go to an inn. Little did they know, they were being followed.

The night sky glistened with stars that Fuu undoubtedly found beautiful. She rose her arm, opening her hand as if she could grab one of the bubbles of gas. Sighing, she slowly brought her hand down onto the railing. Upon doing so, Fuu noticed multiple men standing under her deck. Ducking so she wouldn't be seen, she began listening to the men.

"That man the little girl was with had tons of money on him. We take the money and her." One voice said.

"Then kill him." Maliciously said a deep voice.

That was enough to scare Fuu into Soejima's room. Waking him up, she threw all his clothes to him. Confused, Soejima sat up on his futon, looking at the girl he adored.

Rubbing his eyes like a child, he questioned Fuu's actions.

"Hurry and get dressed. These men were outside talking about how they were going to rob us! We need to go now." She said frantically.

Soejima nodded and put his kimono back on. He grabbed his sword and Fuu's hand and dashed out the window. Upon making it to the ground, they heard the men yelling and the pair began running.

Running into the forest, Soejima kept his grip on Fuu's hand. He was scared that if he let go, that something bad would happen to Fuu. He quickly looked back at the girl, reassuring his self that they had gotten away from the thieves. But was wrong. As soon as he turned around, he noticed one man directly behind Fuu with a sword ready to come down and hit her. Soejima pulled Fuu as hard as he could and swung her in front of him, where she tripped over a tree log and fell. Soejima quickly drew out his sword and sliced the man before he could bring his own sword down.

The group of men instantly circled Soejima. Ready for war, Soejima stood there, eyes unfazed and sword ready for bloodshed. Until, he heard Fuu's scream. Now distracted, he turned to face Fuu and was stabbed in the shoulder.

"SOEJIMA!" Fuu shouted as she tried to escape the man who had her detained.

Soejima cursed softly, as he fell to the ground. Fuu heart dropped as he held his shoulder, but never looked away from Fuu. Momo swiftly attacked Fuu's holders' face. Scared, the man lets Fuu go and she quickly hit him with her sheathed sword. Although Fuu was trained in case things like this would happen on her trip, she was still scared to actually use it. Whenever she had those unfaithful encounters with the mean animals, she would often hit them and run.

Fuu took out her sword with shaky hands and tears in her eyes. She wanted to protect Soejima but was too scared to do so. The men began laughing as one particular man kicked Soejima. Soejima groaned and began coughing.

"Give it up babe. He's dead and you're ours." The one man with the malicious voice began walking up to Fuu.

Right before the man got to Fuu, he suddenly dropped to his knees before hitting his face on the hard dirt. Fuu was confused as she saw more men go down without an explanation. The two last men began running away but was quickly stopped by someone in their way. It was too dark to see who it was, but she could make out a dark shadow of wild hair. Fuu ran to Soejima and pressed his face to her chest.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. He only got stabbed in his shoulder." A voice said sarcastically.

The voice sounded all too familiar and once Fuu looked up, she understood why.

"...Mugen."


	3. Chorus

Fuu sat there, practically mounted to the ground. Her eyes traveled up and down the man's body, looking for any indication that he was fake and that this was indeed some stupid dream she was having. Failing to find any clues, her eyes began watering as she held Soejima's head tightly.

"Mugen.." She choked out.

"Are you seriously crying? And while this guy here is bleeding to death?" He rolled his eyes.

Fuu's eyes widen as she turned Soejima's face towards hers. He was breathing but unconscious. Once again, her eyes started watering. Mugen sighed and grabbed Soejima, throwing him over his shoulder. Fuu quickly got up from the ground and followed Mugen.

Mugen hadn't really changed, Fuu thought. He had let his hair grow out and it was now more wild than it was before. He'd gotten a little taller and his goatee looked like it was still struggling to grow. His red happi jacket was now black and a dark gray sash held his sword. Mugen looked more mature although Fuu knew that looks would be deceiving. Fuu shook her head and sped up.

Making it back to Hiroshima, Soejima was cleaned and patched up. Now resting in his room, Fuu sat in the corner, looking at yet another person who had gotten hurt for her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and drop her head. Only once she heard the door open would her head pop up. Mugen shuffled into the room and sat on the opposite side that Fuu sat in.

"Your friend is going to be okay." He said.

Fuu sighed, thanking the heavens that Soejima wasn't seriously hurt. She turned her head and looked at the man who sat in the corner with his eyes closed and a scowl on his face.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again.." Fuu quietly said more to herself than to the man.

Mugen's eyes slowly opened and looked at Fuu. He didn't say anything, just looked. She began blushing and dropped her head back down, hoping he didn't see her tinted cheeks.

"What are you doing traveling again?" He asked.

"I deliver letters for my boss. Her other son lives in Edo, and I often meet and exchange letters with him."

"That's stupid." He yawned and laid down with his arms behind his head.

"Maybe so, but she pays me."

Mugen head instantly popped up and Fuu could have sworn she saw the money signs dancing around his head.

"How much?"

"About... none of your business." Fuu chuckled.

Mugen didn't think it was funny. He needed money and was thinking about stealing her job from her, just this one time or how many times as he needed to get money to go across the sea.

"Listen, you little..." He trailed off, deciding not to finish that sentence.

Fuu softly laughed as her eyes quickly closed. Seconds later, Mugen heard the soft snores coming from the little beast he thought he wouldn't ever see again. Mugen was genuinely surprised, if not, more surprised than Fuu when he laid his eyes on her. He couldn't believe that little childish girl grew up to look like that. He used to tease her about her "No curves", but couldn't really say anything now. Fuu didn't look like most of the women Mugen had been with, but she was absolutely beautiful. Mugen eyes widen and he suddenly began to choke on his on saliva. Coughing to death, he quickly sat up to calm down his rapid heartbeat.

"What the fuck am I thinking?.." He rubbed his eyes.

Mugen sighed and decided to lay back down. His eyes closed and he tried to not think about those stupid thoughts that ran through his head.

Soejima eyes slowly crept open due to the sunlight beaming onto his face. He groaned and arose from his futon. Soejima's brown eyes examined the whole room until he found what he was looking for. Fuu, still in her corner, slept soundly. A bright smile appeared on his face until he heard a groan that did not belong to him. Soejima's eyes quickly found the cause of the noise and his heart almost jumped out his body when he realized another man was in the same room as them. Soejima swiftly reached for his sword and pointed at the man's neck. Mugen's right eye popped opened as he looked at the deranged guy sticking the tip of his sword into his throat.

"Do it." Mugen sighed as he closed his eye.

Soejima thought Mugen was a threat and rose his sword up. Before he could bring it down, Mugen kicked Soejima's leg and watched the man fall. Mugen swiftly got up and stomped on Soejima's hand as he pointed his sword at the back of Soejima's neck.

"This is how you repay someone who saved your life?" Mugen shook his head.

"Bastard," Soejima said through clenched teeth.

Mugen laughed, as he heard that word being said to him a million and one times. He was about to finish the job before he heard a high pitch voice scream. Mugen didn't even need to turn around to know it came from Fuu.

Fuu ran up to the males and began yelling, "Mugen what are you doing? Soejima's still hurt!"

"Yeah? Well, maybe this little fucker should have stayed in his bed instead of coming after a sleeping man." Mugen put a little more pressure on Soejima's hand.

"I thought you were a threat!" Soejima shouted out.

"Because sleeping men are threats." Mugen scoffed.

Fuu pushed Mugen, more like tried, but he got the idea and moved off of Soejima. She then helped Soejima up and sighed at her rude awakening.

The new trio sat in a small tea shop. The tension that was beaming between the two males irritated Fuu, but before she knew it, she found herself laughing. Finally breaking his gaze from Soejima, Mugen looked at the laughing girl with confusion playing as his emotion.

"What the hell's so funny?" He barked.

"You fighting with Soejima reminded me of you and Jin's little bickers." She chuckled.

Mugen's face soften as he laid back on his hand and lifted his head up to the ceiling, "Forget about that four-eyed freak."

Even though Mugen said that, he, himself, couldn't forget Jin. Although he declared the skilled, long haired man his enemy, he couldn't help but to also declare him as a friend. He would never admit, though. Mugen softly laughed to himself, hoping Fuu wouldn't hear.

Soejima abruptly stood up, gaining the attention from Fuu and Mugen.

"Fuu, let's go." He said in a scary voice that Fuu had never heard before.

When she didn't move, he said it again, but more menacing.

"Fuu! Let's go!"

Fuu jumped at his voice but still didn't move. Mugen sighed and got up as well. Soejima and Mugen stared at each other, hate filling the air.

"I'm starting not to like you," Mugen said deeply.

"I never liked you," Soejima said back.

Fuu jumped up and stood between them and sighed. She looked up at Soejima, who didn't even acknowledge her. He was acting different, and it scared Fuu. For as long as she knew Soejima, he was nice and sweet. But ever since Mugen found them, he was mean.

"Where ya going buddy?" Mugen asked.

"We have to continue our trip. You're wasting time we don't have."

"Oh, well I'm coming too. I don't want Fuu to ever be in the same situation I found her in again." Mugen slyly said.

Fuu's face lit up.

Soejima's did not.

And Mugen grinned.


	4. Bridge

**Sorry, for the late update! If any of you notice, I try to update this like every 10 days. Because of school and work, and stupid tests and blah blah blah. Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoy! I'm having a lot of fun writing this.**

* * *

Traveling with Soejima and Mugen was very fun at first, from Fuu prospective. According to Soejima and Mugen, they hated every minute of it. After a couple of days, the duo had been in more fights than Fuu could count on her fingers and toes. They would fight over food, sleeping space, breathing the same air as each other. And after awhile, Fuu had gotten extremely tired of it, but still thought it was nice to be traveling as a trio again.

Sooner than later, Fuu and the fighting duo ended up in Edo. Men and women alike, bustling around warmed Fuu's heart. Edo had always made her heart feel tingly.

"Enough sightseeing. Let's give whoever this letter, so we can get back go Nagasaki and get our money." Mugen yawned.

Soejima glared at the sluggish Mugen intensely, "It's not OUR money, it's HERS." He emphasized.

Mugen waved him off and kept walking. Fuu ignored the two as she walked ahead gazing at all the people as if this was her first time here. The trio ended up at Soejima's older brother's house. Mugen noticed how beat up looking it was, but for once in his life, decided to keep his opinions to himself. Soejima tried to slide the door open but discovered it was locked; which was unusual, as his brother was always at home.

"Shin," Soejima said.

Quiet.

"Shin?.." He spoke again.

Quiet.

"Shinobu!" He shouted, gaining the attention from pedestrians.

"Chill, he might be at the store or something." Mugen yawned.

Soejima began to get angry and scared. Shinobu was 10 years older than Soejima. With long black hair and a scar coursing down his right eye, Shinobu was fairly handsome. But being in a war left him almost immobile and partially deaf. Soejima found an open window and looked at Fuu. Fuu looked at Soejima and sighed, already picking up his reasoning for looking at her.

When Fuu arrived safely in, she quickly looked around. It's been a couple of weeks since she's been here and yet, the house was collecting dust like he's been gone for years. She hurried to the door to have Soejima look. Once he came in, his face looked of surprise and worry, just as Fuu's. His brother was nowhere to be found. Mugen walked in and could feel that something wasn't right.

"Excuse me.." a small voice made the trio turn in their direction.

It was a pretty petite woman. Mugen walked up to the woman instantly and gave her a flirtatious look and Fuu rolled her eyes. For once in Fuu's life, she added more curves than another woman, but yet, he still went after someone else.

"Hello," Mugen grinned.

"You're Soejima right?" She ignored Mugen and went up to the man.

Mugen frowned.

Soejima stepped outside and nodded. The woman face lit up and gave the trio a dazzling smile.

"Shin told me a lot about you."

"Where's my brother?" Soejima cut to the chase.

The woman's smile abruptly stopped, as she looked down.

"I.. don't know. I'm Hikari Shimizu and I would come to see Shin everyday.. but 3 weeks ago, he said he was scared for his life and thought someone was coming after him. He told me he was going to leave, but I didn't want him to go by his self," Hikaru began to cry.

"So he said I could come with him. But the next morning, he was gone. The weird thing was he didn't pack anything nor take his cane."

"Someone took him," Mugen said seriously.

Everyone got quiet. As long as Soejima could remember, his brother was nice and thoughtful. Shinobu often thought about others before his self, hence the reason why he's disabled now. Was he scared for his life? Why? Shinobu couldn't possibly have any enemies. The man was too nice! Soejima's anger was evident and Fuu slowly wrapped her small hand around his. He quickly looked at Fuu and immediately calmed down. Mugen watched the two and rolled his eyes as he began walking away.

"Mugen? Where are you going?" Fuu dropped Soejima's hand and ran to the man.

Soejima's hand immediately felt lonely, as he followed the pair.

Mugen felt that it was stupid to sit around and wonder where Shinobu went instead of actually going to look for him. Mugen figured he couldn't be far since he needed a cane to walk.

The trio made their way to the center of Edo where people gathered around to watch other people do or say stupid things. Today was no exception. The people of Edo surrounded six individuals, that the trio couldn't see.

"You're the one who injured all of us!" One angry man yelled.

"Yeah! He butted me in the eye with his elbow!" Other yelled.

"At least you didn't get kicked in the balls, man.." One sobbed.

"You're gonna pay!" A short man yelled, as they all took out their swords.

Mugen grinned and pushed through the people to see the fight. Fuu and Soejima followed the trail that Mugen left. Finally getting into the middle, Mugen and Fuu froze.

Jin stood there, looking unfazed by the angry men that were about to gang up on him. The fact that he looked completely the same, made Fuu chuckle. His hair, his demeanor, even his attire was the same. Fuu felt her eyes swell up again as the tears dared to spill. Mugen pushed passed the men and stepped in front of Jin. Jin's eyes widen in shock as he looked at the man. Mugen stood there with a funny grin on his face and a hand on his sword. Before he could connect the blade with Jin's body, Jin had blocked him with his own. The people that were crowding around, began screaming and running away; including the men that started this whole fight. The two stared at each other in silence, leaving Fuu and Soejima to watch.

"Mugen.." Jin quietly said.

Mugen face lit up like a kid with candy.

"Oh-Ho Jin. You didn't forget about our little fight, now. Did you?"

Jin smirked, "Of course not."


	5. Verse 2

**Hello readers of this book! Unfortunately I got a new phone two days ago!...Well, that's not unfortunate...the unfortunate part is that I lost all my chapters for the story :/ I figured that it would get backed up with everything else... I was wrong. So I had to write this chapter over, YAY!** **! It would have been longer if it wasn't for me..my fault.**

* * *

Jin and Mugen skillfully lunged at each other. Upon realizing that they missed, they turned around and stared at one another intensely. No movement nor sound came from neither of them. As they rose their swords for another attempt, Fuu stood in between them with her arms outstretched. The men sighed and decided to postpone their battle once again. Fuu turned her attention towards Jin and began slowly walking up to him. His nonchalant eyes followed her until she was a mere inch from him. Her head popped up and a huge smile sat on her face. Jin's eyes widen in shock as she dove right in for a big Bear hug. Jin blinked multiple times before actually snaking his arms around her to return her embrace.

Just feeling him returning the hug made Fuu hug him harder. Jin couldn't come up with a conclusion on why he had hugged her back. But deep inside, he felt happy seeing his two friends again. Then Jin's sharp eyes quickly landed on Soejima. Fuu finally released Jin and stepped back.

"This is Soejima. He's my friend from Nagasaki. Soe, this is Jin." She smiled.

Jin bowed a little in respect, "Hello."

Soejima returned the favor but remained quiet.

Fuu turned her attention back on Jin and smiled again. It's been two long years without her friends and she was excited to have them back.

The four of them made their way to a tea shop. As the quadruplet sat there, Fuu realized how uncomfortably quiet it was. While Mugen sat there with his hands mounted to the floor and head to the ceiling, Soejima had his head down and silently worrying about his brother and Jin sipped his tea gracefully with his eyes closed. Once Fuu had gotten fed up with the quiet situation she was in, she slammed her tiny palms on the table, shaking Jin's tea and causing Soejima and Mugen to look at her. She glared at the males and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the huge complaint that was about to be released.

"Can you guys talk about something already? Why are we just sitting here silently? We haven't seen each other in almost three years and you guys can't even talk about where you've been? I mean come on guys!" She exhaled.

The males looked at her with disbelief, awe, and annoyance. Mugen rolled his eyes and let his head drift back to its regular position.

"I've been here and there." He said.

Fuu smiled and looked at the man directly across from her.

"I've been here in Edo." Jin sipped his tea.

"Any reason why?" Fuu questioned.

Jin looked at Fuu. Fuu noticed his eyes were trying to tell her something, but she couldn't decipher the feeling they were giving off. She just knew that she suddenly felt sad and hurt by his eyes. Jin dropped his gaze to his tea and stared at his imagine in the liquid.

"No reason." He quietly said.

The four of them had returned to their quiet atmosphere.

Some time later Soejima shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. He caught the trio's attention as he made his way to the exit.

"Soe, where are you going?" Fuu yelled out.

"Excuse my rudeness. But I can't continue to sit here and have a damn tea ceremony with you three. My brother is missing and I need to find him." And with that, he left.

Fuu immediately got up and ran after him and with no one left to pay the bill, Jin and Mugen quickly followed. Fuu caught up to Soejima and pulled on his kimono. He stopped and turned around to tell her off. But one look at the panting girl made him reconsider. Once Fuu caught her breath, she straightens up and gave Soejima a dark look.. kinda. Soejima chuckled at her face before his loud laugh burst out. Fuu felt offended that he was laughing at her glare and crossed her arms, giving him the sight of her back. Soejima continued to laugh until he saw the two males walk up to her. His face, now in the same stoic manner as the other two men.

"What's with the mean look?" Mugen questioned.

"Soejima thinks that he can go find Shin by his self." She pouted

"He's not?" Mugen and Jin said in unison.

Fuu abruptly opened her eyes and frowned at the two.

"Of course, he's not! We're gonna help him! He needs us." She yelled.

"I don't need any of you," Soejima said so coldly that Fuu began to shiver.

Mugen laughed, and stepped up to Soejima, "Oh, I think you do. If you couldn't even protect the little idiot, you probably can't protect yourself. We don't need you dying before we find out what happened to your brother."

Soejima began to get upset as he stepped closer to Mugen. Much to his amusement, Mugen stepped another inch and the two looked at each other with distaste in their eyes. Soejima looked at Fuu through the corner of his eyes. He sighed and back down, for now.

"Fine.. Let's go back to Nagasaki first to report this to my mom, then we can go on from there."

"That'll probably be the best thing. Come on guys." Fuu said.

Mugen rolled his eyes and began following the two. Jin quietly sighed to his self and trailed behind them.

* * *

 **I was literally writing this on the bus ride home from work.. xD**


	6. Pre-Chorus

**So today, my favorite band The 1975 is having a concert and my grandpa told me I couldn't go.. so I'm sulking. BUT I finished my junior year of high school Friday and I finally got my driving permit :)**

* * *

"SOMEBODY GET IT!" Screamed Fuu.

"WHY THE HELL IS IT CHASING US?" Mugen yelled.

"NOT SURE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S BECAUSE SHE LEANED AGAINST A FREAKING BEAR!" Soejima said sarcastically.

The quadruplet was calmly walking through the forest, making their way back to Nagasaki when Fuu began complaining about being tired. She leaned up against what she thought was a tree and sighed. The males looked at her, scared to actually say anything that could provoke the creature that she was lying against. Fuu, on the other hand, did not notice that she had screwed up big time. She opened her eyes and looked at the men who had their mouths wide open. She began to chuckle, as they looked terrified.

"What? never seen a girl lean up against a tree before?" She joked.

"Nah, never seen a girl lean up against a bear," Mugen said and then ran.

Jin and Soejima began stepping back as Fuu finally realized the soft stuff she felt wasn't moss. She slowly rose up from her position and turned around to see a very angry bear. Slowly, she grabbed her sword, whacked the poor bear on its head and ran. Jin and Soejima looked at each other in disbelief and began running as well.

"SOMEBODY GET IT!" Screamed Fuu.

"WHY THE HELL IS IT CHASING US?" Mugen yelled.

"NOT SURE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S BECAUSE SHE LEANED AGAINST A FREAKING BEAR!" Soejima said sarcastically.

"I CAN DO WITHOUT THE SARCASM RIGHT NOW SOE!"

"1. DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND 2. THAT WAS A REALLY DUMB QUESTION!" Soejima scoffed.

Fuu pointed out an old abandon house and the quadruplet ran inside. Soejima sighed as he slammed the door closed and slid down it. The room was filled with nothing but exhausted breathing. A couple of minutes of silence, Fuu began laughing. The males looked at the bizarre little girl that was practically dying on the tatami floor from the lack of breath. She sat up, smile still on her face until she looked at the males that looked like they were ready to kill her.

"What?.." Her eyes shift between the three of them.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" Mugen harshly asked.

"Come on.. that was a little fun, don't you think so?" She smiled at them.

"WHAT PART OF THAT WAS FUN? YOU HIT A DAMN BEAR WITH YOUR SWORD! HE COULD HAVE KILLED US!" Mugen yelled.

"Calm down Mugen," Jin said quietly.

Mugen rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and turned away from Fuu as he began sulking in the corner. Soejima sighed again and rubbed his temples. This girl's completely nuts he thought as he looked at the girl who sat there talking to Jin. Soejima always looked at Fuu when she wasn't looking, silently admiring her beauty. He softly chuckled at his self as his train of thought was diminished by snapping. He turned his head towards the sound and found Mugen snapping at him. Soejima frowned and Mugen returned the face expression.

"What Mugen?" Soejima couldn't hide the bite that came out.

Mugen didn't answer him, he just simply moved his attention to Fuu. Soejima watched his eyes move to the very person he was just looking at. The two of them watched Fuu in a silence before they turned back to each other, frowned, and looked away.

Later that night, Mugen laid there, staring at the ceiling that's caging him in. He didn't understand why, but he couldn't sleep and that bothered him. He sighed and sat up, looking over his companions. He looked at Fuu and immediately felt disgusted. Why do I keep looking at her? He thought to his self. Mugen rolled his eyes and stood up, making his way out the door and into the forest.

He just needed to clear his head. As he walked through the forest, he began hearing footsteps. Now alert, Mugen slowly brought out his swords and began surveying the area. The noise he heard grew louder and louder. Mugen smirked and got into his fighting stance, ready to slice anything that came into his view. What Mugen wasn't ready for was a person to walk out the bushes.

"Hey, you're that one girl that knew Soejima's brother.." Mugen relaxed.

Hikari nodded her head as if she was unable to speak. Mugen began to feel suspicious as she stepped closer to him. His once relaxed hands began to tense up with each step she made.

"Please sir, you have to find him." Hikari cried out.

Mugen stared Hikari down as she fell to the ground in tears. He was confused and wondering why she had followed them.

"If-If you don't find him.. they'll kill me." She cried out.

"...Who will?" Mugen asked, still clenching his sword, waiting for anyone to jump out at him.

Hikari never answered, instead she jumped up and ran away. Mugen called out to her, but she never stopped. He began following her before running into a spider web. He immediately stopped and swatted the invisible webs that he felt on his face away. Once he was done and composed, he realized that he was back at the abandoned house and she was nowhere to be found.

The next day, the quadruplet found themselves yet, at another tea shop, sitting there silently as possible. Mugen sat there confused as he played the scene from last night over and over again in his head. There were way too many questions and certainly not even one answer. Mugen grabbed his hair and laid his forehead on the table.

"Mugen?" Fuu softly said.

"What's wrong with this idiot?" Soejima thought he said lowly enough that only he could hear it.

"Can it, Soe," Mugen said, refusing to even bring his head up to look at Soejima.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"What did you see last night, Mugen?"

Everyone turned their attention to Jin. He had his eyes closed, as usual, sipping his tea. Mugen's eyebrow rose up as he questioned how Jin knew he left last night.

"What do you mean? You saw something last night, Mugen?" Fuu questioned.

Mugen told them all that happened last night and once everyone knew, the same confused expression that was on Mugen's face, were now on their faces as well. The four of them sat there, deciding what to say next.

"I'm confused.. did she follow us? And who's trying to kill her?" Fuu opened her mouth first.

"More importantly, who's after Shinobu?" Soejima questioned.

"Where did she go, Mugen?" Fuu asked.

Mugen got into his signature position, head up to the ceiling, arms in the back and eyes closed.

"I told you, I followed her after she ran away but ran straight into a spider web. Once I looked up, I realized that she led me back to the house and she was nowhere to be found. I have to say, it spooked me out a little bit, that 'poof' she was gone."

"Didn't you hear, there's ghosts in this town?"

The four of them looked up at the old man. He had to be older than 60, with his spine curving and squinting eyes, you'll think he need to be somewhere laying down, and not trying to entertain a bunch of young adults. The old man smiled and showcased his gums.

"There are?" Jin asked.

"OF COURSE! Her name is Juro-Gumo and she's a beautiful woman who's actually spider! She seduces men, makes them follow her, wraps them up in her web, poisons, and eats them !" The old man spits out.

"Oh really?" Jin didn't look too amused.

"I wasn't seduced nor have I been 'eaten'." Mugen scoffed.

"You weren't seduced, you say. If you weren't, why did you follow her?!" The old man interrogated.

"BECAUSE SHE...uh..SHE WAS WEIRD!" Mugen tried to defend his self.

The old man slowly made his way over to Mugen and hit his head with his cane. Mugen shouted and glared at the old man. The elder made his way back over to his original spot and opened his eyes, looking the quadruplet.

"Beware of Juro-Gumo...Now, let's get to your bill."

* * *

 **This story has 666 views..**


	7. Chorus 2

**I'm so sorry, for the delay! I can honestly say that I just couldn't write. I felt like the story was getting stupid and probably no one wanted to read it anymore, so I just didn't finish it. But then, I decided that wouldn't be fair to those, who might actually like it. So I finished this chapter. If you guys feel like it's getting stupid or something, just tell me!**

* * *

The quadruplet walked through the quiet village they were residing at for the moment. The four of them had never heard such a quiet place. It was so quiet, the quadruplets could hear each other's thoughts. Mugen felt that this place was incredibly suspicious. Little did he know, Jin, Soejima, and Fuu felt that way too.

They continued to walk through the "Silent Village" until Fuu walked in a spider web. She kicked, screamed, and called out for help as she thought she was being attacked. Mugen calmly grabbed Fuu's shoulders and violently shook her.

"Calm down, it's just a stupid spider web." Mugen rolled his eyes.

"Hey, what if what the old geezer was saying was true? You know, with the Spider woman." Soejima said.

The trio looked at Soejima like he had lost his head. Jin had thought that if anybody would have believed the old man, it would have been Fuu. Jin's eyebrow rose up as he slightly laughed at his mistake. Though, Mugen and Fuu didn't hold back the laughter that spilled from their mouths.

"Why would you believe a dead person? They lie all the time." Mugen laughed.

Soejima's eyes frowned right along with his mouth, "He isn't "dead", Mugen."

"Yeah, Mugen. That was mean." Fuu crossed her arms and looked at the tan man.

Mugen rolled his eyes and began walking away. The three of them followed, not knowing where they were heading. As they paced down the village, a woman appeared. She was short and very frantic. Fuu ran up to her with no hesitation and asked her what was wrong.

"My husband, my father, my brother.. they're all gone. All the males have disappeared and it's all because of Juro-Gumo." She cried out.

"HA! TOLD YOU GUYS!" Soejima shouted in excitement.

"Cut it out Soe! Are you saying that Juro-Gumo is..real?" Fuu couldn't contain the fear that spilled out.

The woman slowly nodded. She began telling the group how men suddenly began disappearing three months ago and how the whole village had been infested with spiders. The lady mourned for her lost family members just as the other ladies in the village did.

The group ended back at the tea shop that they were at earlier. The five of them sat down and waited for someone to come out to take their order. As they waited, the quadruplet learned that the woman's name was Tsubasa. Tsubasa had distinctive golden hair and beautiful gray eyes. She wasn't like the other women who lived in the village. As she talked, she smiled and occasionally glared at Fuu. Tsubasa's attention was only on the men and found herself loathing anything that tried to come out of Fuu's mouth. Fuu gave up on talking as she begun to realize that they would ignore her and continue their conversation like she wasn't even there. Finally, an old lady came out and poured them tea.

"Where's the old man?" Fuu asked.

The old lady looked down and sighed. She shook her head and looked back up at the group. Her face filled with sadness.

"He disappeared last night.." She said softly.

"Oh no." Tsubasa gasped, holding her hands over her mouth.

The old woman began crying and walked away.

"We need to find these men guys." Fuu stood up and looked at her friends.

The guys didn't even acknowledge her until Tsubasa stood up and repeated what Fuu had just said. The guys jumped up, ready to help while Fuu sighed and followed them out. As the group walked deeper into the village, they began feeling eyes over them. Specifically, on Mugen, Jin, and Soejima.

"Uh.. You two feel the eyes?" Soejima said awkwardly.

"Yes." Jin quietly said.

"I thought it was only me.." Mugen added.

Tsubasa turned around to the four of them and smiled. Fuu started to feel suspicious as Tsubasa kept the smile on her face.

"You have to forgive the women.. we've haven't seen such.. handsome men in a very long time." She said, whether seductively.

Tsubasa stared at the three males before glaring at Fuu and turning around to continue walking. Fuu grabbed onto Mugen's happi coat. Mugen quickly disengaged her small hand from him and focused his attention back on Tsubasa who was rumbling on about the village. Fuu felt hurt but shook it off as she grabbed Soejima's hand to get his attention. Soejima looked back at her with a stoic expression. Fuu got scared and quickly let his hand go. Fuu then quietly called out for Jin, in which he generally ignored and kept walking. Fuu stopped and looked at her friends who ignored her existence. Tsubasa and the men started to walk deeper into the forest, laughing and talking as if she was their childhood friend.

"Guys!" Fuu yelled.

But they kept walking.

"Mugen!"

"Soejima!"

"Jin!" She Screamed.

She ran towards them but got caught in a spider web. As she swatted the webs away, she stepped into a trap that grabbed her leg and hung her upside-down from a tree branch. Fuu twisted and turned, but found herself unable to get out. The more Fuu struggled, the tighter she felt the rope got. She tried to reach for her sword but found it laying on the ground below her. Fuu's eyes began to burn as she thought about her "friends" and how they just left her all alone. As the sun went down, Fuu found herself cursing at the darkening sky and wishing she never met them. Just as the words that she had learned from Mugen were spilling out her mouth, she suddenly remembered what the old man said.

"She seduces men, makes them follow her, wraps them up in her web, poisons, and eats them!"

Fuu's eyes widen at the thought. The reason why the guys were ignoring her was because Tsubasa had seduced them. Fuu started struggling more as she thought about her friends that were about to get eaten. Soon enough, Tsubasa emerged from the shadow and stood up to Fuu. Her blonde hair was now pitch black and the beautiful smile that she wore for the guys was replaced with a deep frown. Tsubasa walked closer to Fuu and pulled out a Katana sword. Fuu glared at the mad woman, refusing to let Tsubasa see how afraid she actually was.

"I hate people who stand in my way.. People like you." Tsubasa traced her fingers over Fuu's cheek.

Fuu moved her face away in disgust. Tsubasa squinted her eyes and stared at Fuu intensely.

"Those men are mine now. Unlike the other women, I need to actually kill you. I don't need a disgusting bug try to steal my men away." Tsubasa said nonchalantly.

"YOU'RE stealing men!' Fuu yelled.

Tsubasa shook her head, "I'm doing what happened me to years ago... She took my husband, so I'll take every male from every woman."

"Do you hear yourself?! You're stealing men because your husband left you for another woman, you can't do that! Every woman in this village is innocent!"

Tsubasa looked as if her 'good' and 'bad' were fighting in her head. Ultimately, the bad won and Tsubasa's cold, expressionless eyes found Fuu's scared ones.

"Shut up." Tsubasa quickly rose her sword and swung down at Fuu.

Fuu closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, but never felt it. Fuu slowly opened her eyes and was face to face with a tip of a sword coming out of Tsubasa's stomach. Fuu looked up passed Tsubasa's bloody mouth and saw Mugen's stoic face. He quickly pulled his sword from out Tsubasa's body and watched her fall on her knees.

"FUU!" Soejima came running.

Soejima used his sword to cut her down from the tree. Once Fuu was free, she looked at the still woman that laid on the cold dirt. Fuu felt kinda bad, Tsubasa was just hurt from losing someone she loved.

Soejima came behind Fuu and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed and immediately regretted it as her head began hurting from being upside down.

Soejima, Jin, and somewhat Mugen, looked confused and taken back.

"YOU GUYS IGNORED ME!" She winced at the pain in her head.

"Shut up, we did it so she could show us where she kept all the men." Mugen frowned.

"What?" Fuu was confused.

"We came up with this plan to act "seduced", so she could bring us to where she kept the men. Once she took us there, we figured she'll go back to you, which she did, and we let the men free." Jin quietly said.

"They were locked up in this cave thing. It was pretty neat if you ask me." Soejima chuckled.

"So.. she was really Juro-Gumo? I thought it was that girl Mugen met in the forest the other night?" Fuu asked.

Mugen walked away and the three of them followed. Soejima shrugged his shoulders as he answered Fuu's question. Juro-Gumo was a myth, Tsubasa was just a deeply hurt woman, who wanted revenge and used her beauty and (a blonde wig) to attract men. Fuu sighed and placed her hand on her head. The Juro-Gumo problem was solved.. but another came about...

Who was Hikari running from?

* * *

 **So my birthday was the 12th and I spent the whole day just eating and binge watching Vanoss. I did go to this one place with my only two friends xD Also, I'm kinda into Kpop.. I've listened to a little bit when I was like 12, but not a lot, cause I thought it was weird, listening to music that's not in your language. But lately I've been listening to BigBang... & I made a discovery..**

 **I'm in love with Daesung**


	8. Bridge 2

"Ah~" Fuu smiled.

The quadruplet had left the Spider Village behind and resume their trip back to Nagasaki. On the way there, they ran into a big bathhouse that Fuu said that everyone desperately needed. Much to the guys' dismay, they reluctantly followed the girl.

Now inside the bath, Fuu felt terribly lonely. She sighed as she laid up against the edge. It wasn't fair that they could all take a bath together. Fuu scoffed, It's not like I want to take a bath with them, she thought. Fuu puffed out her cheeks and thought about all the fun she could have by herself. She splashed some water on her face and let out a terrible laugh. Fuu looked around to see if anyone had caught that embarrassing act that she just did. Once the coast was clear, she dipped her head under the water and let out a bunch of tiny bubbles that Momo tried to pop.

The guys sat on opposite sides of the bath, staring each other down, as if they were some wild animal, waiting for the other to step in its territory. The tension was heavy and no stranger dared to stop it. Until one brave man enter the bath. His long dark hair, moved around in the water as he made his way in between Mugen and Soejima. The man had very fine skin and a beauty mark on his left cheek, right under his closed eye. His majestic movements made him out to be some type of nobleman.

"How's everyone's night?" The man had a soft voice.

"Didn't know that we all would talk while bathing." Mugen sarcastically said.

The man chuckled. Mugen eyed the strange man, before turning to look away. The man kept a sweet smile on his face as he hummed, clearly enjoying the water. The three of them suddenly became very uncomfortable and eerie of the strange male. The man smiled and turned his face to Soejima.

"You look quite...uneasy." The man ironically said with closed eyes.

Soejima faked a bright smile, "Uneasy? nonsense. I'm just trying to enjoy my bath."

"Ah~ Yes, I, as well. But I just have this habit of making people...tense around me. Although I smile, it doesn't help." The man smiled.

"It makes it worse.." Mugen quietly said.

"Ah~ I've heard that too," The man shrugged his shoulders, "Unfortunately, I cannot help it."

The four of them succumbed into silence. Once again, the man turned to Soejima.

"Have any siblings?"

"Just a brother.." Soejima looked at the man suspiciously.

"Ah~ I wanted to have siblings. Unfortunately, it's only me." He giggled.

"Do you have both parents?"

"..Just my mother." Soejima began glaring at the man for his weird questions.

The trio looked at each other than at back at the man. His smiling, happy demeanor suddenly turned dark as his eyes finally opened to reveal an ocean blue color without an iris in one. Soejima slightly flinched, not expecting the man to be missing a part of his eye. The man cocked to the left and looked at the distraught Soejima.

"Scared? Looks disgusting doesn't it?" The man laughed.

He kept laughing too. It was soft at first and begun to gradually get louder. Jin, who's been quiet this whole time, finally looked over to the hysterical man in irritation.

"What's so funny?" Jin questioned.

"Can you imagine...Somebody taking their last breath while looking at my eyes. Such a beautiful sight...truly beautiful." The man said in such a malevolent tone.

Mugen abruptly stood up, "Okay, I'm out of here."

Jin and Soejima nodded at each other and followed. Before Soejima left, the man called out to him. Soejima slowly turned to the man who was sitting alone in the bath, smiling away.

"Zài jiàn...It means, 'See you soon', Soe." He waved.

Soejima gave a little nod and left.

The next day the quadruplet was back on their way. Everyone was quietly walking away, but Soejima just couldn't get that strange man from his mind. The way he only had his attention on him, made poor Soejima feel very uneasy. He didn't get why he was asking him all those personal questions. Soejima sighed and closed his eyes. Upon doing so, he opened them abruptly. All he could see were those blue scarred eyes. He rubbed his own eyes before bumping right into a tree.

"Soe, watch where you're going!" Fuu turned around and walked up to him, rubbing his head.

"Sorry.." He quietly said.

"Don't say sorry to her, say sorry to the tree." Mugen scoffed.

Soejima chose to ignore his "stupid" comment. Fuu frowned at Mugen and then turned her attention to Soejima.

"Are you okay? You seem tired."

"I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Had a...weird dream." He sighed.

"That man was pretty weird." Jin quietly said.

Fuu's head snapped over to Jin. Without even saying, all three males knew what she was thinking. Unfortunately, neither of them wanted to talk about it. Fuu looked between the males and sighed, realizing that no one was going to talk right now. Respecting their wishes, for now, she kept quiet and the quadruplet resumed their journey back to Nagasaki. Still, something about that man didn't sit right with Soejima. Especially now since he's spent all this time thinking about it. He had waved and said something in what sounded like Chinese. Soejima sighed once more and focused his attention back on the main adjective, reaching home and telling his mom about Shinobu's disappearance.

Once the quadruplet finally made it back Nagasaki, Soejima immediately ran to his mom's shop to tell her everything that's going on. The four of them walked into a deserted shop, which was very uncommon.

"Mom?" Soejima shouted out.

"Aguri?" Fuu joined in.

The two searched all over the shop, but there was no sign of the older woman. Soejima was going crazy, there was no other place she would be, especially at this time of day. None of the men she drank with was here, even the cooks weren't there. Soejima began panicking.

"Soejima, Fuu. Is that you?" A middle-aged woman walked in the shop.

Fuu immediately identifies her as the wife of one of the men that got drunk with Aguri. She ran up to her, just in time to catch the falling woman. She was crying and shaking with sadness. Soejima instantly got furious as he marched up to the woman in Fuu's arms. He grabbed the front of her kimono, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Soejima!" Fuu yelled.

Ignoring her, Soejima stared deep into the woman's eyes, "Where's. My. Mother?"

Tears poured down her face, "Soejima, I'm so sorry... But some group of men looked like some type of mafia..came in here and killed everybody." She broke down.

Soejima's face went completely blank as slowly dropped the woman back down. He backed away in complete and utter disbelief. Only when he hit the back wall, did sudden realization sunk in. His brother was missing and now his mother was dead. Soejima ran his hands roughly through his hair, pulling, banging, crying. Fuu ran over to Soejima and hugged him. Although, he was trying his hardest, only when Fuu comforted him, did he break down as well.

Jin and Mugen stood there, unable to say anything.

Once everything calmed down a little, the woman walked over to the grieving boy. He looked up at her as she placed a piece a paper in front of him.

"Whoever it was... knew who Aguri was. They left that message for you. I found it about a three days ago, sticking on one of the tables."

Soejima slowly took the piece of paper and looked at the message. Soejima's face scrunched up, as he was unable to understand the weird characters. He handed it to Fuu who also couldn't understand it. Fuu handed it off to the guys. As they began scrutinizing the characters, Soejima finally got up from out of Fuu's arms and took a look around the open shop. Just weeks ago, she was laughing and drinking with her favorite customers. He began to regret following Fuu. If he didn't go, maybe she'll-

"It's Chinese," Jin said.

Chinese? Soejima thought as he walked over to the males. Who would know Chinese? Suddenly, the strange man's farewell saying made sense.

"Zài jiàn...It means, 'See you soon', Soe."

Soejima's eyes widen. He hadn't noticed until now, but the man knew his name.

"Have any siblings?"

"Do you have both parents?"

Soejima shook with disbelief and anger, as he recalled every single thing the man said.

"Can you imagine...Somebody taking their last breath while looking at my eyes. Such a beautiful sight...truly beautiful."

Soejima was going to find out who this man was and revenge his mother if it's the last time he'll ever do. He crushed the piece a paper in his hand, with great determination and sadness in his eyes.

* * *

 **Poor Soe.･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･. But, I think two weeks ago the story reached 1000 views and I wanted to say thank you! Most people might think "Oh 1000? That's not a lot.", I THINK IT'S A LOT! I'm surprised that people actually want to read my story out of all the ones on here, so thank you :) ALSO! Someone emailed me something very nice, but I wasn't able to reply because they were a guest, so if you're that person, thank you for enjoying the story(≧◡≦)**


	9. Verse 3

**I hate being a young adult. This whole summer break, I've done nothing but work** **ಠ▃ಠ**

* * *

It was a day or two later, maybe even three. Soejima had lost count. He couldn't think, he didn't want to. Instead, he drank himself into oblivion. It was so bad, that he barely recognized Fuu. She tried to tell him off, but he didn't listen, not that he could. Anything that Soejima ever heard was small voices in his head, saying that this was all his fault. He couldn't take it anymore. He just wanted them to stop saying lies that he's beginning to believe.

Soejima swayed across Nagasaki, visibly intoxicated and visibly ignoring the stares. He had long told Fuu, Mugen, and Jin to get lost. Half of the little voices in his head were blaming Fuu.

'If you'd never met her, your mom would still be alive.'

Soejima shook his head violently.

"Fuu had nothing, to do with this!" He said back to the voice.

Soejima stumbled and landed on the ground. He laid there, unable to think properly anymore. He was exhausted. Slowly, his eyes closed and he quickly blacked out.

"Ladies, Ladies, there's enough of me to go around." Mugen laughed and the women followed.

The trio sat at tea house like usual. But this time, there was entertainment. Women clung to the arms of Mugen and Jin while they ate and drunk. Fuu sat there irritated, as she didn't understand why they were here instead out trying to find Soejima.

"Oooh~ Master Jin. You're so handsome." One lady said as she cuddled against him.

"Your muscles are so big, makes me wonder where else you're big at." One particular woman said suggestively to Mugen.

Mugen eyes darted to hers, "Wanna find out?"

She smiled and he smirked.

Fuu faked a coughed and suddenly had everyone's undivided attention.

"Shouldn't we be out finding Soejima guys?"

Mugen rolled his eyes and Jin said nothing.

"We're wasting time here. Come on." Fuu got up from her position.

"Who's this little bitch?" The one particular woman laughed.

Mugen glared at the woman, and she clearly got his message. She immediately stopped laughing and focused back on the angry Fuu. Mugen laid back and nestled his head between the woman's breast.

"Listen, I'm not leaving to go find some stupid drunk. You can go find him your damn self. And hey, why you're at it, stay with him."

Fuu saw nothing but red. She immediately turned her heels and headed for the exit. She knew Jin and Mugen were stupid, but this was going too far. How insensitive could those two be? Soejima just lost his only remaining family and they're acting as if his pet died. Fuu couldn't stand them. She marched down, telling herself that she didn't need them, that she and Soejima would be fine on their own, once he feels better. Little did Fuu know, two strange figures followed closely behind her.

Soejima woke up about an hour or two later. Surprisingly, he was in the same spot. He groaned as he sat up. His head was pounding and his heart was in pain. He sighed and used his sword to lift himself up off of the ground. He wasn't all the way sober, but he was a lot more stable than before. He began to slowly walk without a clear destination in mind.

Soejima's sadness soon took a turn into anger. He was angry at the strange man, of course, but his anger was stronger for his brother. Just what the hell did Shinobu do? It made more sense that he ran away more than getting kidnapped like they had thought before. Shinobu knew he did something terrible and decided to run away from it. Not once did he think about his family and the consequences they would have to bear because of his mistakes. Shinobu definitely had some explaining to do.

"Soejima! Come on, where are you?" Fuu shouted.

Fuu has been looking for Soejima for almost an hour and a half. It was getting really dark and she was starting to get a tad bit scared. But her concern for her friend beat the fear she had. She would spend all night looking for him if that means in the morning she'll be able to look at him and see that he's okay.

As Fuu continued walking, she heard male voices and immediately ran around the corner to see if it could possibly be Soejima. Fortunately, he was one of the voice she heard. He was on the ground, being surrounded by four other men.

"Soejima!" She screamed as she ran towards him.

The men watched her as she dropped to her knees and held Soejima's battered face to her chest.

"What are you guys doing to him?!" She glared at the men, who laughed at her.

"Maybe if he learned to shut up, he wouldn't be in this situation." One man said.

Apparently, Soejima had bumped into the man and his group without apologizing. Then continue to insult them. The whole fight didn't have to happen if only Soejima would've apologized. But of course, the still drunk and angry Soejima didn't know the term 'Apologize', and this was the result.

The 'leader' of the group took Soejima's sword and began walking away. Soejima slowly got up from his position on the ground with Fuu and shouted at the men to return his sword. The man responsible for taking his sword smirked and walked towards Soejima and Fuu.

"Want it back? Fight me for it."

"You're deliberately trying to start a fight. Just give his sword back and we'll be on our way!" Fuu glared.

"I don't believe I was talking to you." The man pushed Fuu onto the ground.

"HEY!" Soejima swung his fist, but missed, as the man dodged it and sent his foot into Soejima's stomach.

The man laughed at the weak Soejima and brought his sword out. The stranger pointed his tip at Soejima and the two glared at each other. Fuu quietly took out her sword and hit the man on his head with the butt. The poor man swayed and then focused his chilling attention on Fuu.

"You bitch." He spat out as he charged at her.

Suddenly Fuu was grabbed and Someone stood in front of her and the man. Fuu immediately noticed the long tied back hair. Jin stood there with his sword connected with the man's sword.

"Ah, another to fight?" The man smirked.

Mugen sat Fuu down and quickly took Jin's side.

"Care to fight me too?" Mugen grinned.

"Sure, but only if they can help too." The man said, pointing to his group that surrounded Jin and Mugen.

Jin kept his composed face expression, while Mugen was filled with excitement.

After the fight, The duo stood there, looking at the men they just merciless beaten. Mugen sighed and returned his sword back into his sheath. Mugen grabbed Soejima's sword and walked over to him. Soejima and Fuu sat there, staring up at the stoic expression that rested on his face. Mugen flung Soejima's sword onto the ground in front of him.

"Good job. You almost got her hurt again." Mugen glared.

Soejima scoffed, "Nobody told her to come find me."

Fuu yelped as Mugen punched Soejima.

"MUGEN! STOP!" She yelled.

"Just because you lost your mom, doesn't mean you can go around and be an ass." Mugen grabbed Soejima by his kimono and brought their faces closer

"That girl's been trying her hardest to help you through this and you keep pushing her away. You're being selfish Soejima. She tried to help you and you were going to let her get hurt."

Mugen's face tensed up as he lowered his voice so only Soejima could hear, "If that man would've put one little cut on her, I would had killed him and you."

Mugen then pushed Soejima away from his self.

"She's gone. She's not coming back either. That's the reality of it. So stop moping around. That's not gonna help you, it's time to move on Soejima. Do you want to sit here all day and drink your tears away, or go find the bastard that did it?" Mugen said as he began walking away.

"Mugen, you didn't have to say it like that!" Fuu chased after him and Jin followed.

Soejima sat there, wrapping his mind around the truth that Mugen had just said. He slowly got up and looked towards the sky. The moon was bright just as the stars. One lone tear spilled down his face as he grabbed his sword and followed the trio.

The next day the quadruplet stood around a rock that was covered in flowers. Soejima and Fuu quietly prayed as Jin and Mugen stood there, looking over them. Fuu slowly opened her eyes and turned to Soejima.

Soejima prayed for his mother to be happy and not to be worried about him. He would find the strange man and Shinobu and bring justice. Although he knew this wasn't something his mother wouldn't want, he couldn't continue his life without doing so. He slowly brought down his hands and opened his eyes.

"Are you ready?" Fuu asked.

Soejima gave Fuu a sweet smile and nodded.

"Good! I'm starving!" She smiled.

"How are you hungry when you ate all that stuff last night?" Mugen questioned as they began walking away.

"Today's a new day, of course, I'll be hungry." She laughed.

"Mugen, did you forget that she almost won that eating contest?" Jin asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

Soejima turned around once more to look at his mother's grave. He softly smiled to himself and ran towards the trio.

* * *

 **The whole time I was writing the ending of this chapter, I was listening to San Fransisco by Midicronia. It's the ending song for Samurai Champloo on episode 26. It's a very upbeat and happy song I think.** **⊂( ・ ̫・)⊃**


	10. Chorus 3

**Ok, please don't hate me. I've been working and literally had THIS weekend to spend my "summer break". I go back to school Tuesday and I'm not sure how this is going to work with this being my senior year, so I'll be busy AND I'll be working. BUT I will still finish this, I'm determined. But anyways, I've decided to make two chapters about our dear friend Jin, since I really don't have him speaking enough in our little adventure. He was always the quiet "speak-when-spoken-to" type of guy to me. So hopefully you'll enjoy and forgive me. Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ**

* * *

It's been a couple of weeks since I resumed my journey with the two idiots who added another idiot to the group. I only put up with these three, only because there is no one who could occupy my time. At least, not anymore. When the three idiots found me, I was doing someone a favor.

Prior to meeting the three of them, I had settled down and began teaching a little bit at a local dojo. I didn't show the students how to handle the sword. more like, gave them advice. Although, my initial reason for being in the dojo was to protect its owner.

One particular woman caught my attention, though. She was the daughter of the man who owned the dojo and would often serve tea to the tired students. She was very friendly and always happy to oblige to any of their needs. In some way, she wished she could've kept up with her persona. Ai was a woman who wanted everyone to be happy and lived in a bubble gummed world, while Nai hated everyone who looked at her wrong and wouldn't hesitate to cut you down.

Ai didn't think that I wouldn't realize her missing presence at night. She would often tell her maid to lay in her bed while she left for the night. "No one would ever know", she thought. She was kind of smart, but I was way smarter. You couldn't fool me with some immature 'switch places with me' joke. Every time she left, you know I was right behind her.

Ai would pull her hair up into a sleek ponytail and untie her kimono to reveal black tightening cloth that stretched across her thin body. Something I noticed once she untied her kimono is that you could vaguely spot a black handle. Ai would cover her mouth and nose with a black cloth and once she did that, she was no longer Ai, she was Nai.

Nai would come out of her changing spot and roam the town, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Every move she made and I was five steps behind her. She must have felt my presence because soon, she began walking faster and then abruptly running into side streets and alleys.

I followed her and stopped in front of a dead end. Suddenly I felt like I wasn't alone and immediately drew my sword to hit whoever was behind me. She was smart, but I was way smarter.

"Did you really think you could corner me in here and get me just like that?" I chuckled.

Ai's eyes squinted as she looked at me through our connected swords, "I still got you cornered, though. So I partially win."

"Mind telling me why you're sneaking out every night to patrol the town?" I asked.

"Mind telling me why you're out here following me and not protecting my father?" I could hear the malice in her voice.

Instead of answering, I shoved her away from me and placed my sword back into its rightful place. Once I did that, I walked passed the teenaged girl who's eye widens even as I continued to pass her.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" She shouted.

"To protect your father," I said as calmly as I could.

While I was enjoying my afternoon tea the next day, I was interrupted by a person I knew was coming soon.

Ai calmly walked into my room and slid the door closed. She gracefully sat on her knees and smiled up at me.

"Tell me, what the hell was that last night?" She said while keeping that smile on her face.

"Whatever do you mean?" I decided to play dumb just for my own amusement.

Her smile broke and was replaced with a deep frown. "Jin. You are not to tell anybody about what you saw last night. Do you understand me?" She demanded.

"It sounds as if you are giving me orders.."

"I am." She clenched her fists.

"Unfortunately, I do not take such orders from you," I grinned.

Ai was visibly upset but decided it pointless to fight with me. She got up and left. It was hard to say, but I was intrigued. What could she be doing all night, every night?

Once Ai left me in peace, I was interrupted again by her maid.

"Excuse Jin-sama.." She shyly spoke from behind my door.

"Yes?"

"Daisuke-san wishes to speak to you."

Daisuke was the owner and father. I sighed and opt to follow him. Once I was shown to his room, I immediately felt this dark and disturbing aura. Daisuke was a very stern man, kind of like me in a way. He intimidated a lot of people, just not me.

I sat down and bowed my head a little in respect. He didn't say nor do anything but sit there, looking at me.

"Yes?" I asked because he was starting to piss me off.

"Two of my students have disappeared." He spat out in anger.

Daisuke's dojo was different from any other. He would find the kids without any parent and guardians and take them in to become "strong swordsmen" in their futures. There were only seven of them. And I suppose he wanted me to find the missing two.

"They disappeared last night."

His statement shot right into my ears. They disappeared last night. That was strange considering that I was out last night. But then again, I was too busy chasing Ai. I chuckled at myself.

"Is it possible that they ran away?" I asked.

Daisuke shook his head and looked closed his eyes. Understanding my task, I bowed and made my way out his room. That night I stood and watched over the only exit from the estate. It was dark and fairly quiet until I heard something from the roof. Ai wasn't smart enough to check her surroundings when she decided to leave again. She basically jumped right in front of me and left without realizing that I was there. Silly girl she is, indeed.

Out of stupid curiosity, I followed the girl again. This time, she noticed I was behind her.

"I knew you'd be showing your face to me.." She sighed.

"Don't concern yourself with my wellbeing. Continue doing what you do." I said.

She rolled her eyes and began walking away and I followed. Ai just simply walked the town, as if she was some guard of the night. She must've been getting irritated at my presence because she quickly turned around and drew her sword out at me. I stopped and looked at the girl who was trying her best to intimidate me.

"You'd followed me around this whole time. Go back now." She said.

I didn't reply, just simply stood there, taking in our surroundings. We were about to enter some dark forest that she didn't want me to see. I grinned a bit at the thought that she might be hiding something in there.

"What's in the forest, Ai?"

"None of your business. Now go back, or else." She threatened.

I nodded and walked away. I wanted her to believe that I was going back, but of course, I wasn't. There were some questions that I didn't have answers to, and I was going to get them one way or another.

* * *

 **And guess who's going to see** THE 1975!? **MEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH .·´¯`(▂)´¯`·. 〜٩(^▿^)۶〜**


	11. Bridge 3

For Ai to be somewhat smart, she sure was dumb. She waited for an extra 20 minutes after I left, just to make sure I was really gone and went back into the forest she refused to let me in. What she didn't know was that I was just lounging far up on a nearby tree. Once she decided to come out her forest and left the same way we came, I jumped down from the tree and made my way into the forbidden area.

As soon as I walked in I immediately noticed all the vibrant flowers blooming within the darkness. Move past the flowers and you can spot an obvious manmade or in this case woman-made trail. I couldn't help but feel like I was walking into some trap that she made, but I was ready for whatever she threw at me.

Once the trail came to a stop. I was standing face to face with a cave that appeared to be made out of dirt and other things. My suspicions of a trap were only growing, but that didn't stop me. I took a step forward and began walking down the long tunnel. It wasn't long before a light came into my view of vision and when it did, I was shocked to see what was in front of me. The two kids that Daisuke said went missing were together, eating on what looked like the food from back at the estate. The kids looked up at me in fear as they held onto each other. Why were they here? This question that had no answer only continued to bother me once I turned around to a peaceful humming voice.

Behind me stood an angry Ai and two other frighten kids from her father's dojo. Ai immediately grabbed the two she came with and pushed them towards the other two and drew out her sword, pointing it directing at my throat.

"Ai, what the hell are you doing with these kids?" I asked.

She shoved her sword a little closer to my Adam's apple. "I don't know who that 'Ai' person is. My name is Nai and you will tell me what you're doing in here before I sliced your throat."

I watched her watch me. For quite some time too before she got sick of the silence.

"SPEAK." She shouted.

"What are you doing with these kids, 'Nai'?"

Ai sighed and returned her sword on her hip. Once she did that, I allowed her to grab my kimono and pull me back outside to the entrance of the cave. Once outside, she paced around the cool forest dirt, rubbing her head as if she was stressed.

"Listen Jin... You can only call me 'Nai' in front of those kids. They haven't suspected me as Ai." She finally turned to me.

"Why do you have them anyways?"

"God..I shouldn't be telling you this." She sighed some more.

She stepped up to me, significantly shorter than I. Her forehead reached right below my chin. She raised her hands and grabbed onto my shoulders. For some reason allowed her to do that. Ai lifted up her face and displayed watery eyes that confused me.

"Daisuke..he's training those kids to be his own suicide team."

"What?"

"Once you leave, Daisuke wouldn't have anyone to protect his selfish ass anymore. So, he's training those kids to do what you do..but worse." Her grip on my shoulders tighten.

"He's training them to basically die for him. Jin, he's taking these kids who already don't have families and using them. And I will not stand around anymore and watch these kids die again." Tears ran down her soft, pale cheeks.

"Again? This isn't his first time doing this?" I asked.

Ai scoffed, "With all the enemies he has? How do you think he's alive today?"

I immediately felt disgust and anger. I turned my attention to the tunnel within the cave. Growing up and deciding that you wanted to die for someone was one thing, but taking homeless children and forcing them was another. It pissed me off that this was happening right under my nose and I hadn't suspected a thing.

I turned my attention back to Ai who obviously had a motive. Although I pressed her for information, she must had a plan in that little head of hers. If she didn't, she wouldn't have told me in the first place. I worked for her father and could easily told him what she was doing. But that strong look she gave me, we both understood things that didn't need to be explained. Ai finally looked away and walked back the way she came.

"Where are you going?" I asked, silently following her.

"We have to get back soon. The kids will be ok, I taught them how to make a fire and they have food and warmth. We'll get the remaining three tomorrow night and then we'll leave." She talked out her plan without consulting me.

I didn't answer back. I simply just followed her back to the estate.

The next morning, Ai and her father sat at their table eating breakfast, as I and the other servants watched. Since Ai told me Daisuke's dark secret, things made sense to me. Daisuke is a powerful man who stole a lot of land from the less fortunate. So, of course, he'd have a lot of enemies but also a lot of allies wanting to buy land from him. He asked for me to protect for two to three months and after that, I could be on my way. I didn't question him nor did I care to. I would get shelter, food, clean water, and money just because I was going to protect some aging guy for three months. I'd be stupid not to take it.

"Ai sweetheart, I have great news." Daisuke slyly said.

"Yes, father?" Ai slowly looked up at the man she detested.

"I found a man whom you will marry."

"What? You're not marrying me off!" She threw down her chopsticks.

The next few seconds happened so fast, that my eyes could barely correlate with my brain to remember the scene. One millisecond ago Daisuke was calmly sitting there, the next he had slapped Ai and grabbed her by her kimono. One millisecond ago I was sitting down, watching them, and the next I was half way across the room with my sword at his temple.

Daisuke, who obviously feared for his life looked at me through his peripheral vision with sweat falling from his forehead.

"Jin, what the hell are you doing?"

I didn't answer him, instead, I moved the tip of my sword from his temple to his hand that's gripping Ai. Daisuke seemed to get my point and released the woman. Ai slowly got up from her position on the tatami floors and walked away while holding her left cheek. Daisuke scoffed and turned his anger towards me.

"I dare you to raise your sword at me again. I'll have you killed." He spat and left himself.

I ignored his threat and went to Ai's room where I found her packing her things. Once she sensed I was standing there and it was immediate, she turned to me and with those same eyes, gave me that look that made me understood everything without explaining. Later that night, we rounded up the remaining kids and made our way outside. Well, that was the plan but unfortunately, we had company. As soon as we walked outside, we noticed men surrounding us as if we stole an important document. And in the middle, stood no other than Daisuke himself.

"I knew this wasn't a coincidence. I can't believe you were letting the only things keeping us safe go, Ai." Daisuke scoffed.

"You aren't God! You don't get to pick when they'll die!" Ai snapped back.

"Ai, cut the act. Nobody wanted these kids, they'll die knowing that they did a good deed." Daisuke rolled his eyes.

Ai didn't say anything, deciding to stay calm for the kids. Daisuke eyes turned to me and darkened.

"Ai, I'll handle you personally. As for you, your sentence is death." He smiled at me.

Some of Daisuke's men grabbed the kids and Ai. She began screaming and kicking to fight off those who had her detained.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" She screamed.

The rest of the men brought out their swords and faced me. I looked at them and slowly brought mine out too. All I had to do was fight these five and get to the other five men. Sound easy enough.

I quickly rose my sword up and immediately clashed with whoever. As I was fighting one, I noticed two rushing to both of my sides. I instantly ducked and kicked the man who was running up behind me. As the fight progressed, Daisuke noticed that I wasn't going down anytime soon and forced the guys who were holding Ai and the kids to rush to their aid. As soon as Ai was free she grabbed the kids and ran.

"Shit! After her!" Daisuke yelled.

I ran in front of the men and stood there; if they wanted to chase her, they were going to have to get through me. Ten on one wasn't going to be an easy task, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

After some time, I finally manage to beat the men and once I turned to face Daisuke, I realized he was gone. I tiredly placed my sword back into my sheath and ran towards the forbidden forest.

Once inside the cave, I found Ai and the kids huddled around the fire. I walked in and sat across from them. It seemed like Ai knew that I would come out alive because she didn't even open her eyes while the kids cheered for my returned. Only once the kids settled down and I could breathe calmly again, did she speak.

"Tonight, we're leaving guys. But I have to do something first." Ai smiled at the kids.

"Do what Nai?" I asked.

"I need a favor Jin.." She unraveled herself from the kids and sat next to me.

Ai had a sweet scent about her and it made me feel funny, but I never wanted to act out on that feeling. She sighed and laid her head on my shoulder. I did not welcome the warmth, but I also did not push it away.

"There's a nearby town called Edo, take the kids to an orphanage there. I know they'll be safe." She quietly said.

"Where are you going?"

"To finish things with Daisuke."

"Ai-"

"Jin!...just do this for me..please?" She begged.

I nodded my head and got up from my spot. I gathered all the children and waited for them all to say their individual goodbyes. Ai hugged each and everyone as tears fell from her cheeks. I had the children begin walking out before I turned around and looked at Ai.

"Don't do anything stupid," I said.

Ai smiled and hugged me. Once again, I didn't welcome it, but I also did nothing to stop her. She gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and waved 'Thank you'. I nodded and made my way to the children waiting for me. As we got farther away from the little village, I developed a very eerie feeling. I stopped with the kids and looked out towards the sky and saw nothing but fire. I told the kids to hide in the trees as I rushed towards the raging fire. I found myself standing in front of a burning estate that was just intact yesterday. I rushed inside, hoping that I wouldn't find Ai. Luckily I didn't, but I did find a man struggling to live. Daisuke laid there, covering the gaping hole in his stomach.

"Jin..oh, Jin. Please help me." He cried out as blood spilled from out his mouth.

"Ai..that little bitch did this...I should had killed her right along with her mother." He spat out.

I wanted to put this man out his misery but decided against it. Instead, I simply walked out as the fire got worse and he cried out for me to help him. I made my way back to the kids and we returned to our little journey.

The next day, the children and I arrived at the bustling town of Edo. I dropped them off at the orphanage that Ai said would keep them safe. The children crowded around me as they gave me a group hug. Once they let go, I walked away, hoping they'll be safe. As I was walked through Edo I noticed a woman who was getting hit on by all these men. I thought about ignoring it, but once I got a strong whiff of that scent, I knew who it was.

"Ai! Are you okay?" I pushed a man away from her.

"Hey buddy, we were here first!" One man grabbed me and I butted him in the eye with my elbow.

Another man tried to grab me but I kicked him in the balls. Then all of them tried to jump me. I sighed and turned my attention back to the woman who was now missing. Angry, I gave them a piece of my mind or fists. After I fought them all the first time, they decided to pull out their swords and fight me that way. Once the crowd of people surrounded us, unfortunately for me, Fuu, Mugen, and their new friend Soejima thought it would be a nice time to show their faces to me. Especially Mugen.

"Mugen.." I quietly said.

Mugen's stupid face lit up like he was with a bunch of women.

"Oh-Ho Jin. You didn't forget about our little fight, now. Did you?" he asked with that disgusting smirk on his face.

I smirked back, "Of course not."

It's been awhile since I was able to fight anybody with Mugen's skill and I was frankly excited. But of course, Fuu stopped us and proposed that I'll come with them. I thought if I wanted to find Ai, then I should travel with them. Plus, it wouldn't be so bad going around with the only two people I kinda enjoyed being with.

Kinda.

* * *

 **So I've been kinda busy as you can see..BUT guess what!? I got into my top choice university** **٩(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و Class of 2021!**


End file.
